Open letter: Western University community demands action for colleagues in Gaza

The following is an open letter from hundreds of students, staff, faculty, and alumni addressed to Western University President Alan Shepard demanding support for students in Gaza admitted to Western University. It was provided to Antler River Media Co-op by members of the Western University community.

Dear President Shepard,

We, the undersigned, are Western University students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are concerned about the plight of students in Gaza admitted to Western University’s graduate programs. These students are passionate, scholarly, highly qualified, and keen to begin their studies after surviving three years of genocide during which they completed, against all odds, their university applications, and were admitted by our university on merit. 

Khaled and Raneen, a couple currently in Gaza, are admitted to Western University’s medical research fellowship in cardiology and PhD in nursing, respectively. They shared their stories in an interview with Antler River Media Co-op, local London press. We listened to audio recordings of these interviews and were moved and saddened by their situations. 

Khaled shared that he had been interested in cardiology since the early years of medical school. He dreams of advancing cardiovascular medicine, improving healthcare systems globally, and treating heart-related diseases in underserved communities. In his interview, he said: “I have a passion for knowledge. I need to complete my studies. This is my dream. I want to be a specialist – to be a cardiothoracic surgeon specialist. Of course, as you know, here in Gaza, not just the universities but all the hospitals were destroyed. Where we got our education in the hospitals – our professors, our specialists, our consultants – simply, they are dead now. So, no chance to complete my studies here, no chance to start my residency, no chance to be a specialist. I want to complete my studies. This is my goal – to get back to the world.” 

Raneen, who completed degrees in maternal and child health, shared that she is passionate about supporting vulnerable communities through research, clinical care, and rebuilding battered healthcare systems. In her interview, she said: “All I ask is for the chance to continue my education in a safe area. My only goal is to learn, grow, and use my knowledge to give back to serve as a healthcare provider…I want the stakeholders to hear my voice and the voice of many students here in Gaza who are trapped and can’t continue their education. There is no chance to continue higher education here in Gaza because all universities were totally destroyed.” 

Unfortunately, the Canadian government is deliberately stalling these students’ visas, refusing to waive or modify biometric requirements that have been waived or modified in other circumstances. For Afghan refugees, our government agreed to facilitate their movement to a third country for biometric appointments; for Ukrainians affected by Russia’s 2022 invasion, our government created a unique humanitarian program that included the decision to exempt biometric requirements. None of these considerations have been made for Palestinians in Gaza, who merely insist on a fair process. In his interview, Khaled said: “We do not ask for a favour. We don’t want our visas to be treated with exceptions or bias. No. We need a fair treatment, a fair processing of our visas, to give us our opportunities to have our biometrics done, and for the process to take its normal processing time. We do not ask for a favour. Education is a right – it is not a privilege.”

Crucially, other countries – including France, Ireland, and the UK – have taken action to bring Palestinian students in Gaza to their universities of acceptance. Universities were instrumental in pressuring their governments into this action: according to a BBC article, visa approvals for students admitted to UK universities followed “months of campaigning by politicians, academics, and others on behalf of more than 80 Palestinian students who hold offers from UK universities this year.” The University of Oxford detailed its support for Palestinian students explicitly in its academic mission, stating: “The University has taken the following steps to support those impacted by the conflict, in line with our core mission to advance learning and our status as a University of Sanctuary: 1) Worked with other UK universities to secure visas and exit arrangements for Gazan students with full scholarships to take their studies; 2) Launched a graduate scholarship programme – the Palestine Crisis Scholarship Scheme –  for students displaced by the conflict to study in Oxford during 2025-2026; 3) Opened Bodleian Library resources to students and scholars in, or displaced from, Palestinian universities; 4) Developed OxCRED, education-in-crisis initiative based at our Lifelong Learning department to provide flexible, high-quality, online education enabling students affected by the conflict to continue learning wherever they are.” 

Western University has a history of advocating for members of the student community, like Khaled and Raneen, caught in conflict zones. In ten separate statements and articles, Western University detailed the moral, financial, wellness and program-based support it provided to Ukrainian students affected by the 2022 Russian invasion – including those located in Ukraine. In one of those statements, you, Alan Shepard, stated: “Our goal is to create new pathways to Western for those looking to pursue education and scholarship in the safety of our campus community, and to enhance support for current international students from countries in crisis.” You additionally noted specific supports offered in relation to Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran: “The Western community has a compassionate history of offering this kind of support, as demonstrated by our response to humanitarian crises in Syria and Afghanistan, and our scholarships for Iranian students following the downing of Flight 752 in 2020…Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, teams in Western International, the Registrar’s Office and across the university have mobilized to support those most affected by the crisis.”  

In light of this history, we request that Western University’s administration explicitly detail supports in place for Palestinian students in Gaza accepted to our university for postgraduate studies. We are committed to our colleagues in Gaza being granted entry to our campus. Time is of the essence: two Palestinian students in Gaza, twin sisters Dahlia and Sally, were ready to begin their PhDs in engineering at the University of Waterloo, but were killed in an Israeli airstrike before their student visas were issued. 

We request that the administration inspire itself from the humanitarian commitment to students made by Oxford University by:

1) communicating with our government and working with other Canadian universities to secure visas and exit arrangements for Palestinian students in Gaza with full scholarships to take their studies; 

2) develop and launch graduate scholarship programs specific to Palestinian students in Gaza that enable them to continue their studies from afar; and 

3) communicate transparently with us, the university community, about the supports offered to these students and progress made in communications with government officials. 

This letter is open for signatures until our colleagues in Gaza join us on campus. Please circulate widely.

The original letter can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GAaQ5t1MjZAWsHjyWYsNd5ychaTtaEXtT6Ym8Ypfws8/edit?usp=sharing